Oakland-Raised Tongan PhD Candidate, Marlena Wolfgramm, Researches Pacific Islander Retention and Persistence in STEM
Marlena Wolgramm with her family.
How was your educational experience? What resources were missing for you throughout your academic experience?
I liked school and got good grades because my parents constantly told my siblings and I to go to college. The only problem is, my parents were unable to show me how to get to college. I was raised in the traditional Tongan way to respect our elders and speak only when spoken to. So asking my school counselor how to apply to college was scary and unusual for me. Attending a large high school with few counselors (because our school districts were laying off school counselors), when I did get a meeting, I could barely get a word out before she’d rush me out. My friends helped me apply to college, but was rejected from the one school I applied for because I could not afford to pay for additional application fees.
I attended the local community college and transferred to a 4-year university, where I navigated college on my own because I continued to have negative experiences with counselors and advisors. Also, as a transfer student in STEM, the challenges were even greater with bigger class size and rigorous upper-division courses. School had been so easy up until then. I was so accustomed to making it on my own that I eventually had to find a study group to survive. I was unaware of tutoring, STEM Center, joining a STEM club, MESA, EOP or other programs that support underrepresented students in STEM or college.
When I finally graduated, I knew that I wasn’t done with school and got a Master’s in Education. I’m currently working on my PhD in Education. My experience in graduate school has been a major upgrade from my undergrad. I finally found an advisor and professors who support and believe in me as a student. My educational journey was long and full of unexpected twists and turns. It would have been helpful to have a counselor or advisor that looked out for me. I wish I knew about STEM or pre-med programs that specifically geared to supporting students like me.
What are your thoughts on Pacific Islander representation in STEM and more generally in higher education?
Pacific Islander are highly underrepresented in STEM and higher education. I know that there is an increase of PIs enrolling into college, but that it decreases with degree attainment. We have been grouped with Asians (under AAPI), who earn twice as much as STEM degrees than Whites, Blacks, Latinx and Native Americans/Alaska Native and Pacific Islanders. The aggregated data easily masks the underrepresentation of PIs in STEM and higher education.
There is little research on PIs in STEM, which is my research interest because of my personal experience as a PI in STEM. My goal is to highlight the success of PIs in STEM to inspire younger and current STEM majors, and understand how to better support PIs in STEM and disseminate this information within higher education specifically institutions with a high enrollment of PIs.
Marlena Wolfgramm giving a research presentation.
Tell us about your research. How can the greater Pacific community support you?
My research is on the Persistence and Retention of Pacific Islanders in STEM. I am interested in educational trajectories and paths that PIs have taken to succeed in STEM. I want to share their stories to inspire PIs and specifically understand how to better support PIs in STEM.
The greater Pacific community can support me by participating or refer me to participants for my research. Also, I’d like to network with other PIs who are doing similar work.
Marlena Wolfgramm at Mauna Kea.
Any advice to Pacific scholars?
Lift where you stand. Any opportunity to help another Pacific scholar for the greater good of the community is a true reflection of who we are as a people.
Any last words or shoutouts?
Shoutouts to my family, friends and community who continue to support me in my educational endeavors!